Jared Isaacman Places the First Sports Bet Ever Made From Space on Inspiration4
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It’s rare that we get to write about outer space or charitable foundations on this website, so this is an exciting news article that I jumped at the opportunity to write when I saw it pop up. On Thursday, September 16, Jared Isaacman made history by placing the first sports bet from space. Darren Rovell, a sports business analyst who works for The Action Network, placed the bet for Isaacman after instructions were relayed to Rovell by Isaacman’s brother Michael. Earlier that day, Michael had spoken with Jared to finalize the sports bets he would like to place.
About Inspiration4
How did we get here? SpaceX successfully launched the first all-civilian space flight, called Inspiration4, on September 15, 2021. Jared Isaacman, a billionaire technology entrepreneur, is the mission commander of Inspiration4 and Sian Proctor, a geoscientist and science communicator, is the mission’s pilot. The purpose of this mission is to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with $200 million the fundraising goal.
Who is Jared Isaacman?
Jared Isaacman is the CEO of Shift4 Payments, a company that processes over $200 billion in payments a year. He purchased all of the seats on a SpaceX vehicle and began training earlier this year. Isaacman, 38, is worth $3.4 billion according to Forbes and has pledged the initial $100 million to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In addition, any proceeds from Isaacman’s sports bets will go toward this charity fundraising goal.
In addition to Isaacman’s historic sports bets from space, he brought 66 pounds of hops with him so Sam Adams could make a space beer. Sounds like my kind of guy. Isaacman has a background as a pilot as he began taking flying lessons in 2004 and, in 2009, he set a world record for circumnavigating the globe. Isaacman is still just 38 years old and has already done more historic things than anybody can ever dream of.
Isaacman’s Bets
Isaacman placed two bets on Thursday via Daren Rovell serving as a proxy at the BetMGM Sportsbook at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The first bet was $4,000 on over 40.5 points to be scored in the Thursday Night Football game that night between the Washington Football Team and the New York Giants. There were 59 points scored in what surprisingly became a barnburner. Isaacman profited $7,636.35 on that bet, all of which will go to St. Jude’s Research Hospital.
Isaacman also placed $4,000 on the Philadelphia Eagles to win the Super Bowl. Isaacman grew up in New Jersey and has ties to Pennsylvania, so this one is likely a bet made with his heart, not his head. However, at 66/1 odds, that’s a value worth taking advantage of. Jalen Hurts did look awesome in the team’s first win of the season, so perhaps the Eagles are more of a contender than anyone but Isaacman realizes. If the Eagles pull off the unthinkable and win the Super Bowl, Isaacman would profit $268,000.
Following Isaacman’s win on Thursday night, Rovell reportedly has plans to meet with his brother Michael to hand over the winnings which will then be donated. BetMGM, the sportsbook Isaacman placed his bets with, has also donated $25,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Jeff Stoneback, the Director of Trading for BetMGM spoke to how before four years ago, a sports bet had never been legally placed in the United States outside of Nevada. Now, BetMGM has taken a bet from outer space to support St. Jude.
